The member photo gallery is now integrated and live!!  All user albums and pictures have been ported from old gallery.


To register send an e-mail to admin@bmwr65.org and provide your location and desired user name.

Author Topic: I used to be a Rat Bike...  (Read 14393 times)

Offline Tony Smith

  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 2322
  • Graduate, Wallace and Gromit School of Engineering
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #30 on: March 02, 2019, 04:44:55 AM »
Re airbox

Chuck the 3mm plate at the end of the starter cover, you don't use it. The airbox is located by one central bolt and 2 bolts that clamp the airbox to the starter cavity.

Near the central bolton the top of the gearbox you will see a tempting little phillips headed screw - Do not under any circumstances remove that screw. It retains a piece of steel channel inside the gearbox that lubricates the gears and bearings by flooding them with oil collected in the channel  by being thrown there by the input gear. Undo the screw and the channel falls onto the gears, if it doesn't get "eaten" will will make a lot of noise and the gear/bearings will die of lubrication failure.

You might want to go to Real OEM and get a feel for the airbox components and where they go.
1978 R100RS| 1981 R100RS (JPS) | 1984 R65 | 1992 KLE500 | 2002 R1150GSA |

Offline Justin B.

  • Administrator
  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 5949
  • I love my Beemers
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #31 on: March 02, 2019, 02:49:55 PM »
Quote
I’m assuming that the filter sits between the two sections to fill out that gap?, or do I have the wrong airbox?

Yes, the air filter makes up the difference.  Also, make sure you have the "snorkles" on the airbox cover as I've read that performance suffers if they are removed.
Justin B.

2004 BMW R1150RT
1981 R100RT - Summer bike, NEKKID!!!

Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #32 on: March 02, 2019, 03:09:03 PM »
Quote
Re airbox

You might want to go to Real OEM and get a feel for the airbox components and where they go.

Wow. I might have been stuffing around for years before I found that Tony! Awesome. Thank you. The young fella I bought the bike off hit on me for an extra 50 bux for the Clymer manual which is great, but it isn’t really model specific and it doesn’t show exploded assembly diagrams like that. Exactly what I needed.

Thanks for tip on the screw as well. Yup, that could go very wrong...


Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #33 on: March 02, 2019, 03:14:43 PM »
Quote
Quote
I’m assuming that the filter sits between the two sections to fill out that gap?, or do I have the wrong airbox?

Yes, the air filter makes up the difference.  Also, make sure you have the "snorkles" on the airbox cover as I've read that performance suffers if they are removed.


Thanks Justin. I was hoping that was what was happening. I’m waiting on another parcel form Moto Bins which has all my service parts including the air filter. The first shipment arrived in under a week, so it’s only a couple of days away.


Offline BPT

  • Lives at Base of Mt. Olympus
  • ***
  • Posts: 720
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #34 on: March 02, 2019, 06:48:08 PM »
If you hear of anyone mention "Max" or "parts fiche", here is what they're talking about.  It's a BMW dealer in the US that puts the fiche online.  Same pictures and such as Real OEM but set up a little bit differently.

https://shop.maxbmw.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=51897&rnd=07242017

1983 R65 w/ Velorex 562 Sidecar

Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #35 on: March 02, 2019, 07:49:12 PM »
Quote

https://shop.maxbmw.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=51897&rnd=07242017


Excellent! Thanks BPT. I really appreciate the help you guys are providing.

So, I’ve just dropped the Mrs at the airport which gives me a few days to make some real mess and spray motor bike parts all over the place for a bit, without “ah hmm”s and “oh, really”s.  :)

It looks like a good opportunity to do the fork seals and have a look at the steering head bearings.

I’ve actually got a huge shed and workshop area, but it’s already full of old motorcycles and projects and other crap! (my business actually takes up most of it). I’m hoping to have this thing mobile again within a few more weeks, so I’m doing all of this in the car port attached to the house, so it’s kind of shared domain.



Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #36 on: March 12, 2019, 04:56:26 PM »
Well, that was quite a week. The boss is back and I managed to have everything mostly back together and on its wheels again before she arrived!

Front end all went pretty easily. I did wait a week for replacement bump stop rubbers ,(a soft, clear material rather than the red ones). Steering head bearings weren’t too bad. They just got a good clean up, reassembled, fresh grease and adjusted.

The master cylinder was a mess. Full of some sort of molten muck, but again a good clean up and the internals were all fit to go back together. It certainly looked like a kit had been through it in the last couple of years. The reservoir had 3 good cracks in it, so that was replaced, fluids flushed and drained and it feels pretty good.

I replaced a lot of fasteners on my way through with 8.8 rated, zinc plated hex head bolts, (because that was all I could source locally), but Allen head replacements are at my post box waiting for collection.

Airbox system is complete again but I need to get the fuel tank sorted before I can get it running and test it all. No doubt the carbs will need adjustment and sorting, but we’ll get to that in due course. I’ve still got to do oil change and valve clearances too.

The fuel tank! What a bloody nightmare... I’m still waiting on the US tank and old mate has messaged me to say that he spent an extra week trying to get the fumes out before posting it, which he was due to do on Monday.... here’s hoping it makes it.

So, while I’m waiting with my fingers crossed, I figured I ought to have a crack at straightening the original tank. I used the bladder method to push a couple of its dents out, but the main dent wasn’t going to budge like that, so I resorted to welding a 20mmx20mm square tube offcut about 12mm wide to the tank and using a slide hammer to pull it out as far as I could. It was successful to a large extent, but it certainly wasn’t pretty! I got most of the surface to within <10mm of its correct level and then treated the surface and stuffed it full of filler. It’s still got plenty of sanding left to get it right, but it’s at least well on the way.

I’m waiting on shock absorbers to turn up and the fuel tank, (with its cap, which is what I’m really after) so give it another week or so, I’m pretty confident it will be fit for inspection and hopefully, plates.

« Last Edit: January 14, 2021, 10:41:52 PM by Justin B. »

Offline Tony Smith

  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 2322
  • Graduate, Wallace and Gromit School of Engineering
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #37 on: March 12, 2019, 06:06:05 PM »
That is looking seriously good. Well done!

I am really looking forward to seeing where this journey ends.
1978 R100RS| 1981 R100RS (JPS) | 1984 R65 | 1992 KLE500 | 2002 R1150GSA |

Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #38 on: March 12, 2019, 07:13:51 PM »
Cheers Tony. Yep, it’s coming on but I’m a bit of a “glass half empty” kind of guy, and all I ever see is how much work there is still to do. But that’s just elbow grease and man hours basically.

Where it ends up is still a bit up in the air. I’m keen to get it on the road and clicking off kilometres again and see where it goes from there. I’m more a fan of rolling restorations rather than complete strip down and rebuild, which tends to drag out and get wildly expensive.

I’m going to leave the single seat, bobbed rear guard and silly little LED taillights and indicators on it for the time being and pick up the bits required to return it to original as and when they pop up. It’s still a pretty extensive shopping list, (pipes, headers, rear guard, seat and tail unit, tool boxes, indicators, instrument surround) but they are generally all the bits that everybody is currently ripping off and discarding when building them into customs, so they are turning up fairly regularly.

Patience and persistence will be the key I suspect, which is fine if it’s back on the road rather than taking up workshop space!

Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #39 on: March 29, 2019, 04:25:37 AM »
Well it’s progress, but it’s been slow. Painting takes sooooo long.... The tank has been off it for 2 weeks, so the bike hasn’t been running and it was good to finally get to the point of being able to put fuel back in it today, after a final 4 day wait for the tank sealant to cure. I figured that the sealant was worth it to protect against rust and leaks in the welded and repaired areas of the tank top.

I rigged up a quick fuel line and filter today and it sprang to life again, which was good to hear.

The finish on the tank is ok, but far from perfect. Better than it was though. The front guard and side covers have been a real pain! The plastic is really difficult to buff....

I’ve got about a thimble full of blue paint left though, which should be almost enough to finish the front guard (again!) and the final blue piece, the seat ducktail, which I picked up the other day, (long story, I’ll get round to telling about it later and believe me,  It’s an interesting ducktail!) so hopefully, I’ll get around to finishing the paint in the next couple of days and I can get on with my life.

Couple of photos (in bad light) but it gives you an idea of where it’s at. There are still many miles to go, but I’m hoping to have it back on the road in it’s current form in the next week or two. Fingers crossed.




« Last Edit: January 14, 2021, 10:45:07 PM by Justin B. »

Offline tunnelrider

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 321
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #40 on: April 08, 2019, 05:19:03 AM »
Hi ged,
Interesting job to be putting the bike back to original and I'm enjoying reading your posts. Did you paint your triple trees or clean them up?  They look pretty good.
'85 Black R65 / '74 GT185 / '83 Pantah 500 / '90 Super Tenere 750  / '01 DRZ400 dirt only

Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #41 on: April 09, 2019, 12:59:55 AM »
Quote
Hi ged,
Interesting job to be putting the bike back to original and I'm enjoying reading your posts. Did you paint your triple trees or clean them up?  They look pretty good.

Hi tunnelrider, yep. I’m going in pretty much the opposite direction from most people doing R65 projects at the moment, but then I’m well used to swimming against the stream!  :) :) :)

I’m not really a fan of the muppetracer craze going on at the moment and I really did see this project as an opportunity to save at least one Airhead from such a fate. Each to their own as they say, but my money is firmly on the side of history and the intent of the BMW engineers who designed and built these things. I really believe that people would be a little misguided to think that their ‘custom’ is going to end up better than what the factory produced, on pretty much any level you’d care to nominate, including aesthetics.

I was also thinking that the market would be well stocked with excess bits left over from custom conversions, and that was pretty much true. I’m still going, but having no real trouble tracking down the original bits I was missing for this.

Because this was more of a resurrection rather than a restoration, I haven’t really focused on going crazy cleaning and refurbing bits, so I only cleaned up the top triple clamp, not the bottom.

There is a before and after photo earlier on here somewhere with the top triple clamp, brake master cylinder and handle bar clamps, which I vapour blasted in a homemade vapour blaster that I made up a few years ago. It wasn’t my design, (I stole it from a South African guy on a Triumph forum) but it’s basically a pickle drum and a pool pump... I think I spent all of about 50 bux making it! But it does a fantastic job. I also did the fork sliders, disc carrier, alternator cover and starter motor cover. You do need to mate it to a high output air compressor for the best results though. Mine is 3hp.

I’ll post up some photos if anyone is interested. It’s pretty easy really.

Things have been rolling along with the bike, so I’ll post an update later today I hope.





Offline ged in oz

  • Lives in Foothills of Mt. Olympus
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #42 on: April 09, 2019, 03:01:37 AM »
Yesss! We got through Roadworthy Certificate inspection, insurance, licensing etc etc yesterday and we now have plates on it, and shes on the road!

I ran it in for inspection last week but old mate the inspector, looked it over and said “are those LED indicators ADR stamped?” (It had teeny weeny little LED lights it) Ahhhh, no. “Tailight?’ Ahhhhh, no. “Go on, off ya go. Bring it back when it’s fixed”.  Smiley And fair enough too. I’m a big fan of large, bright easy to see indicators, just like the factory ones....

As it turned out, I had already collected both front and rear indicators, plus the rear mount bar and front headlight holding plate with the front indicator mounts - the mounts had been chopped on mine - as well as a (barely) serviceable tailight, so it was just a matter of fitting all of that up over the weekend. Gee, I made that sound easy... you can just imagine the sorts of things that you encounter. I just transplanted what was already there. I still need to find an instrument shroud.

I’ve put a heap of kilometres under her over the last 2 days and she’s running mostly ok, but still some gremlins to sort and piles of other work to do as well. But, that’s the point of a rolling restoration. I can do most of the other bits and pieces as I go along over coming months.

Still tracking down the whole rear guard/nice tailight/indicators, plus a dual seat, although I have put a pair of old soft panniers on it today which works really well with the single seat. So I strapped some boxes to the rack and I ran a delivery to some customers about 45 minutes ride away through the mountains. Beautiful.

I went to the Post Office as well while I was out there and woohoo, picked up the fuel tank from the US. It made it... The cap is buggered though! Still, it looks like a straighter, nicer tank than mine so I’ll keep it aside for stage 2 of this project, somewhere down the track which will probably be more like a restoration....
« Last Edit: January 14, 2021, 10:47:35 PM by Justin B. »

Offline BPT

  • Lives at Base of Mt. Olympus
  • ***
  • Posts: 720
  • I Love YaBB 2!
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #43 on: April 09, 2019, 11:08:19 AM »
Congrats on your progress.

Certainly interested to hear about your pickle bucket vapor blaster.
1983 R65 w/ Velorex 562 Sidecar

Offline Tony Smith

  • Mt. Olympus Resident
  • ****
  • Posts: 2322
  • Graduate, Wallace and Gromit School of Engineering
Re: I used to be a Rat Bike...
« Reply #44 on: April 09, 2019, 05:56:15 PM »
A lovely job. Congratulations!

If you are minded to share the design of your vapour blaster, I'm interested too.
1978 R100RS| 1981 R100RS (JPS) | 1984 R65 | 1992 KLE500 | 2002 R1150GSA |